Dark Blue World (2001)

The friendship of two men becomes tested when they both fall for the same woman.

Director:

Jan Sverák

Writers:

Zdenek Sverák (story), Zdenek Sverák (screenplay)

Stars:

Ondrej Vetchý, Krystof Hádek, Tara Fitzgerald

8 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ondrej Vetchý	...	Frantisek Sláma
Krystof Hádek	...	Karel Vojtisek
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Susan Whitmore
Charles Dance	...	Wing Commander Bentley
Oldrich Kaiser	...	Jan Machatý
David Novotný	...	Bedrich Mrtvý
Linda Rybová	...	Hanicka Pecharova
Jaromír Dulava	...	Railwayman Kanka
Lukás Kantor	...	Tom Tom
Radim Fiala	...	Jura Sysel
Juraj Bernáth	...	Jan Gregora
Miroslav Táborský	...	Vilha Houf
Hans-Jörg Assmann	...	Doctor Blaschke
Thure Riefenstein	...	German Officer Hesse
Anna Massey	...	English Teacher

Storyline

March 15, 1939: Germany invades Czechoslovakia. Czech and Slovak pilots flee to England, joining the RAF. After the war, back home, they are put in labor camps, suspected of anti-Communist ideas. This film cuts between a post-war camp where Franta is a prisoner and England during the war, where Franta is like a big brother to Karel, a very young pilot. On maneuvers, Karel crash lands by the rural home of Susan, an English woman whose husband is MIA. She spends one night with Karel, and he thinks he's found the love of his life. It's complicated by Susan's attraction to Franta. How will the three handle innocence, Eros, friendship, and the heat of battle? When war ends, what then?

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Plot Keywords:

raf | czech abroad | allies | luftwaffe | nazi germany | 

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Genres:

War | Drama | Action | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Tmavomodrý svìt (czech) [Czech Republic]

Country:

Czech Republic UK Germany Denmark Italy France

Language:

Czech German English Slovak

Release Date:

17 May 2001 (Czech Republic)

Also Known As:

Dark Blue World

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$5,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,541, 30 December 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$258,215, 2 June 2002

Company Credits

Production Co:

Biograf Jan Sverak,Ceská Televize,Dark Blue World

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cost of renting the British Spitfires used in the film was $10,000 an hour.

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Goofs

The machine guns aboard the British aeroplanes fire at around 600 rounds per minute. The Browning Mark II* machine guns used by British aeroplanes fired 1,150 rounds a minute.

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Quotes

Susan: Are you hungry?
Karel Vojtí?ek: Not really... Yes.
Susan: Not really - yes?
Karel Vojtí?ek: I mean yes. Sorry... My English isn't very well. I mean good.

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Connections

Referenced in Vsechnopárty: Episode dated 23 December 2008 (2008)

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Soundtracks

Americká polka

User Reviews

A must see for any pilot

I was "turned on" to this movie by my flight instructor and now I wonder how the heck it was out there for nearly five years before I finally discovered it. If you have any love of flying at all, especially an attachment to the planes of WWII, this is an absolute must see, vastly superior to the pathetic "Pearl Harbor" and up there in rivalry with the famed "Battle of Britain" filmed more than thirty years ago. There are moments when you feel as if you are flying wingman, literally dodging the shell casings of your leader as you roll in on a Me 109 or He 111.

As an historian this film deeply touched me as well for it is about the plight endured by tens of thousands of gallant Poles, Hungarians, Slovaks and Czechs who in 1939-1940 fled their homelands, made it to England, fought with utmost bravery for the survival of western civilization, and then were so callously abandoned by "us" after the war when they were arrested by the communists upon their return to their native lands. I have stood atop Monte Cassino in Italy and was moved to tears by the cemetery for the Polish troops that stormed that mountain that British and Americans could not take. I have traveled as well to Prague (the most beautiful of cities) and studied their history. Their story of abandonment, I believe, should be a lesson to us even today about obligations to gallant allies.

But back to the film. If you love flying, see this. If you are interested in the aircraft of WWII most definitely see it. Without doubt the most brutal, direct, and frightfully swift air combat scenes ever replicated for film. And yes, if you even are seeking a touching romance, there is that as well in heartbreaking detail.

Bill Forstchen Professor of History Co-owner of a WWII replica "warbird" P-51 Mustang "Gloria Ann"